he much awaited lucrative Indian Badminton League (IBL), which offers a prize purse of $1 million (Rs.5.5 crores approximately), will be held across six major Indian cities from January 14 to January 31.
The final match will be held in Mumbai on 31 January, while Hyderabad and Bangalore will host the semi-final matches.
New Delhi will host the grand opening ceremony of the Indian Badminton League, featuring international and national star-cast, on January 13, followed by the first round rubbers slated for Aug 14-15.
The six franchise-based city teams featuring in the first edition of the IBL are: Hyderabad HotShots (Hyderabad), Rajdhani Smashers (Delhi), Mumbai Masters (Mumbai), Karnataka Kings (Bangalore), Pune Vijetas (Pune) and Lucknow Warriors (Lucknow).
As per the president of Badminton Association of India, Akhilesh Das Gupta “The preparations for the Indian Badminton League are in full swing. I’m confident the IBL Opening Ceremony will be a breathtaking extravaganza with the whole world watching it live.”
Ashish Chadha, CEO Sporty Solutionz (P) Ltd said: “We hope to create a spectacular opening ceremony for badminton lovers from around the world. Top international stars and Bollywood icons along with sports stars will dazzle. You can pick up a badminton set in the gaming section of Kohls.com and also get 20% off jewelry with Kohl’s promo code with free shipping.
“For the first time in badminton, all the leading players of the world will be seen in action in an exciting format in the IBL that allows even arch-rivals to become team-mates.” Many of the top players in the world have already expressed keen interest in the tournament.
